Friends and neighbors,
About half of Minnesota students cannot read at grade level.
That might surprise you, but it’s true.
In my short time in the Senate, I have had heartbreaking conversations with parents who have shared stories about their children’s struggles to improve reading skills or the system’s failure to provide the right instruction. I have had similar conversations with educators who express their frustration at their lack of resources to adequately support their students.
It is tragic. We have failed a generation of students.
Reading is the foundation of all learning. There is nothing more important in education, and no better predictor of future success, than making sure students are able to read proficiently by third grade.
Part of the problem is that we’ve been using the wrong approach, so teachers have been ill-equipped to properly and effectively teach reading. For years, schools have been using a reading instruction approach called “whole language” literacy. Whole language focuses on language immersion, context, and visual clues.
Over time, research and data have confirmed that children best learn to read with a systematic, structured approach focusing on the building blocks of language – phonics, syntax, and semantics. It’s called structured literacy, or the Science of Reading. It allows students to develop the foundational skills of reading step-by-step, starting with the basics like sounding out words, and then moving on to more advanced skills like understanding the meaning of what they’re reading. The science of reading is all about understanding how our brains process written language.
Senate Republicans have long prioritized improving reading scores and the Science of Literacy.
This year, we are making literacy our top education goal once again. We recently introduced our literacy plan, called Reading RESET. There are three primary components to this plan:
- We provide funding for schools that would like to replace ineffective “whole language” literacy materials with proven “Science of Reading” curriculum and instructional materials
- We provide funding for teacher training and professional development in the Science of Reading
- We provide funding for tutoring to help struggling students who have fallen behind in reading.
Our proposal would establish a special revenue fund, not unlike a disaster relief fund, from which schools can apply to cover costs related to aligning their curriculum and instructional practices to the Science of Reading.
Don’t get me wrong, we can’t shortchange schools on funding. In recent years, the legislature has approved a series of historic bipartisan education bills. In 2017, the legislature provided nearly $19 billion in total education funding. In 2019 and 2020, schools received 2% annual student funding formula increases. In 2021, schools received more than $1.1 billion in funding increases – the largest formula growth in fifteen years.
But that funding has not reversed students’ declining literacy scores. We have to make improving student literacy a specific, deliberate goal. That is what the Reading RESET does.
When parents and teachers work together, amazing things can happen. We’ve seen this happen firsthand. The Science of Reading and improving literacy will make a big difference for students across the state.
Contact me
Your feedback, ideas, and concerns are what allow me to serve you to the best of my ability. Please share your thoughts with me any time at sen.bill.lieske@senate.mn or 651-296-5101.
I would also love it if you follow my new, official Facebook page here: https://www.fb.com/SenatorLieske.
It is a privilege to serve you!